[How About This Book] The Pit of Instant Gratification... Escape from the 'Screen Prison'

Technological Advancement Harms Humanity
Concerns Over 'Screen Addiction' Amid Electronic Device Dependence and Disconnected Lives
Need to Seek 'Sense of Purpose' Over Immediate Gratification

"We are connected to devices and cut off from our surroundings. We focus only on ourselves rather than self-reflection, light up screens but have no sharpness in our eyes, enjoy advanced technology but have poor health. What drives us crazy, makes us weaker and sicker, and ultimately kills us is our technology and technology-centered lifestyle."

The author, addiction expert Nicholas Kardaras, argues that humanity has regressed as technology has advanced. He points out that humanity, like frogs in gradually heating water, does not escape even as the water boils and faces death. Although technology has leapt forward over the past century with the advent of electronic devices, the destructive immersion that comes with it has been overlooked.

The author focuses particularly on screen addiction. Screens include computers, TVs, smartphones, and more. He explains the impact of isolation on addiction through the 'Rat Park experiment' conducted by Dr. Bruce Alexander in the 1970s. According to the experiment, rats that could interact with other rats in an open space and freely access food did not become addicted to drugs. Even rats that accidentally consumed drugs did not seek them again. However, isolated rats easily became addicted and many died from overdoses. From this, the author argues that the absence of community and isolated environments have a greater impact on addiction than the addictive nature of the substance itself. He also cites the widespread drug and alcohol addiction in Indigenous communities in Canada and the United States, where native cultures were stripped away in the past, as evidence.

The author claims that the widespread depression in modern society is caused more directly by disconnected lives than by neurochemical imbalances. The disconnections include ▲meaningful work ▲people ▲values ▲respect ▲nature ▲hope, among others. He points to the emergence of Facebook (Meta), Twitter (X), and similar platforms as the cause, expressing concern that the likelihood of modern people developing depression is ten times higher than 60 years ago, and that the rate of depression has more than doubled in the past decade. Furthermore, he warns that virtual experiences such as video games can stimulate the human brain to release dopamine at levels comparable to actual sexual activity, and that nearly everyone lives a life excessively dependent on electronic devices, granting enormous power and control to the creators of these devices and platforms.

According to the author, these online-based platforms deliberately deceive users for profit. In 2012, Facebook researchers conducted an experiment on 700,000 Facebook users by sending them sad posts to test emotional contagion effects. Although the experiment showed real effects, it was criticized for violating research ethics. Eventually, one Facebook researcher apologized, saying, "The benefits of the research do not justify all the anxiety caused."

It does not end there. Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen revealed that Instagram increased suicide attempts and eating disorders among teenage girls but did not modify its algorithm due to concerns about reduced engagement. A Wall Street Journal report pointed out that TikTok sent tens of thousands of weight loss videos to 13-year-old users within weeks of signing up, exposing them to diet pressures. The author warns that such backgrounds damage rational thinking that could stop addictive behaviors.

The Philadelphia commuter train sexual assault case is introduced as a real-life example of lost rational thinking. On October 13, 2021, at 10 p.m., a woman was threatened for 45 minutes and sexually assaulted for 6 minutes by a homeless man on a commuter train, while no one in the carriage directly intervened to help. At least two people even filmed the incident on their smartphones. The author points out, "In 21st-century America, cell phones are our crutches and security blankets (omitted)... We commemorate everything by posting photos on Facebook or Instagram," and that the 'rape on the commuter train' was one of those events.

So how can we break free from addiction? The author emphasizes that hospitals are not the fundamental solution. Most people have the resilience to recover from great misfortunes on their own, and scientific evidence shows that psychological treatments like debriefing can actually increase trauma. He recommends self-recovery of the 'psychological immune system.' The author stresses the need to move away from a state of seeking immediate gratification without learning basic life skills such as patience and overcoming adversity.

He also highlights the importance of 'efforts to find a truly soul-satisfying meaning in life.' The author introduces cases where dozens of alcoholics participated in Father Pallenitz's ark-building project and maintained sobriety for years, emphasizing the importance of a sense of purpose. He advises, "If we fall into the Instagram, game, TikTok, or YouTube rabbit holes, we become weak, lazy, and lose any goals (omitted)... Now is the time to control our destiny and design our lives without leaving it to the algorithms of giant tech companies."

People Trapped in Their Hands | Written by Nicholas Kardaras | Translated by Jeong Mijin | Heurim Publishing | 368 pages | 20,000 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.